Message from the Assembly Elections: The Myth and Reality of Congress Revival
In the recently concluded elections to State Assemblies in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh, the Congress has predictably managed to retain power in all the three states, triggering a growing media buzz regarding the revival of the Congress and the return of the old era of Congress domination.
A closer look at the poll outcome however reveals a number of holes in the story of Congress revival. In Haryana, the Congress tally has dropped from 67 to 40 while a resurgent Indian National Lok Dal finished a close second with more than 30 seats in its kitty. The dramatic revival of Om Prakash Chautala signifies nothing short of a huge backlash by the aggrieved electorate of rural Haryana. In Maharashtra too, the Congress-NCP combined tally fell one short of the majority mark and its vote share dropped by six per cent. The big news from the state is the rise of Raj Thackeray’s MNS. More than anything else, it is the MNS factor which has helped the Congress by not only splitting the Shiv Sena vote, but also pushing a disillusioned electorate back to the Congress in search of some sense of safety and security from the MNS brand of divisive and aggressive politics.
The Congress would of course like to attribute its return to power to a ‘positive mandate’ from the electorate. But the ground reality in neither Maharashtra nor Haryana would endorse the Congress claim. Maharashtra is still reeling under the combined impact of agrarian crisis and economic recession while Haryana remains notorious for its retrograde and patriarchal social environment that continues to deny large numbers of dalits and women their basic human dignity and civil rights.
According to Maharashtra’s state economic survey, three out of every eight residents are below the line. Every day since 2006, 1,800 people have lost their jobs. Regional disparity is quite glaring – per capita income in Vidarbha (Rs. 29,000) is only 40 per cent of the per capita income of a Mumbai resident (Rs 73,930). The corporate-builder-politician-bureaucrat nexus reigns supreme in the state even as real estate and share market have replaced the manufacturing industries of yesteryears as the biggest sources of wealth accumulation. Haryana too has a similar story to tell. Congress rulers in Delhi and Chandigarh keep showcasing Gurgaon as the shining star of economic boom, but beneath all the corporate glitter and gloss, there is little urban infrastructure and no industrial democracy in this hugely over-rated success-story.
By all accounts, the Congress win in these elections is more a victory by default aided by a weak opposition and the absence of any credible and consolidated Left-democratic challenge. Both in Maharashtra and Haryana, the BJP failed to make any headway – in fact, it suffered further erosion and this in turn has aggravated the chaos in the party. Also notable is the decline of the BSP in both Maharashtra and Haryana. The rise of the MNS in Maharashtra of course marks a major challenge to the working class movement in the state. In the 1960s, the Congress had facilitated the rise of the Shiv Sena to curb the Left trade union movement in and around Mumbai; four decades later the MNS is raising its head, once again with blessings from the Congress, giving a distorted and divisive expression to the popular anger against deindustrialization and joblessness.
As far as Arunachal Pradesh is concerned, election in the state continues to be viewed more in the context of border dispute and bilateral tension between India and China than as a reflection of the political situation and public mood in the state. Like most small states in the North-East, elections in Arunachal too are heavily influenced by money-power and bureaucratic manipulation. An NDTV correspondent covering Arunachal elections put the average amount spent by victorious Congress candidates at a staggering Rs. 5 crore per Assembly seat!
Far from returning to the old paradigm of Congress monopoly, Indian politics continues to evolve through the maze of multi-party competition. The forthcoming elections to the Jharkhand Assembly should provide further proof of this political diversity.
CC Statement Demanding Resignation of Telecom Minister
From Sukhram more than a decade ago, to A Raja now, privatization of the telecom sector has come hand in hand with corruption at high levels involving none less than Telecom Ministers themselves. Sukhram, involved in a telecom scam in the first phase of telecom privatization, was convicted some months back following a CBI enquiry; and today again the CBI has found reason to raid the office of the DoT. Back then, too, Sukhram was a Minister in a Congress regime, and time, too, it is the Congress-led UPA Government which must squarely take the blame for the shameful corruption in which its own Telecom Minister is enmeshed.
The present scam has its links with the decision to allow foreign companies to operate through their subsidiaries and up to 74% of foreign shares. Unknown companies that did not have any infrastructure were awarded licences without following due procedures, and they have minted money by selling the licences to foreign operators for much higher amounts, resulting in heavy losses for the state’s exchequer. The entire scam has clearly emanated from the Telecom Minister’s office itself.
With the CBI raiding the office of the sitting minister himself, there can be no justification for the said Minister to continue in office. CPI(ML) demands that the Telecom Minister Mr A Raja be held responsible for the scam and seeks his immediate resignation.
(Issued from CPI(ML) Central Committee Meeting, Ranchi 27 October)
Land Reforms Sangharsh Yatra: Further Reports
As part of the State-wide struggle marches (Sangharsh Yatra) for land reforms (LR), mass meetings and marches were held in Madhubani dist. On 3rd October, a public meeting was held at Mangrauni village under Rajnagar block. More than 300 rural poor including women attended the meeting. LR Struggle march was formally flagged-off in this dist. on 6th October after a public meeting at Ratikar village. The Sangharsh Yatra held mass meetings in several villages under Rajnagar, Jhanjharpur, Lakhnaur, Pandaul, Rahika and Bisphi blocks and disseminated the information contained in the Land Reforms Commission (LRC) report. The campaign exposed the doublespeak of Mr. Nitish Kumar whose Govt. has rejected the recommendations of the LRC, stiff opposition to the LRC recommendation from both the BJP and Congress and utter silence by RJD and LJP on the issue was exposed to the masses as proof of their allegiance and servility to the feudal, jamindar and kulak class. These village meetings urged the masses to unify landless, poor, labourer, share-cropper and rural proletariat under the CPI(ML) to intensify the movement for implementation of the LRC recommendations. Next day a sizeable public meeting was organised at Laheriaganj addressed by AIALA GS and Party’s C member Com. Dhirendra Jha. After these marches and several public meetings the prevailing tensions between feudal landlord kulak and landless, labourers, sharecroppers is on the rise in the district. Party is gaining popularity among the poor while the rich and feudal class has been venting venom against us and the LRC report.
Latest Development: The Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has finally declared outright that he has no intention of implementing the Land Reforms Commission (LRC) recommendation to enact a new bataidari law. Instead he has directed SPs to deal with land disputes – confirming that in his govt.’s view, land is viewed as a law and order issue, and in effect issuing a veiled threat to the CPI(ML) (i.e that we will have to contend with the police if we take up land issues). In response to queries by the press, Nitish has declared that when even West Bengal could not implement ownership rights for the sharecroppers, how can Bihar do it? But the fact is that the LRC headed by D Bandopadhyaya does not at any point recommend ownership rights for sharecroppers! It merely recommends registration of bataidars as the most modest and minimum security of tenure and right to cultivate the land, allowing the sharecroppers to thus access government schemes of agricultural compensation and credit, etc... Nitish is setting up a straw man of ‘ownership rights’ and then knocking it down! Nitish has also summarily ruled out the LRC recommendation of uniformity of land ceiling, and even the recommendation of 10 decimals of homestead land for rural poor.
The CPI(ML) has launched a widespread awareness campaign regarding ceiling land, homestead land and bataidari rights. Alongside this, the party has also begun initiatives to organise bataidars and create a pressure from below. In 10 panchayats of Patna where the party has a hold, we have begun to extend subsidy to bataidars. In Samastipur, our panchayats have distributed Kisan Credit cards to bataidars in Bhojpur, bataidari registration forms have been filled up as part of a campaign and submitted to the district administration.
BJP MLA Gheraoed at Gangavati, Karnataka
CPI(ML) and AIALA organized relief work in the rain and flood affected districts of Koppal, Bellary and parts of Davanagere. Many AIALA activists and members too were affected. Thousands of petitions seeking relief were filed by AIALA at Harapanahalli taluk in Davanagere district and Kudligi taluk in Bellary district. Relief materials were collected and distributed among the people by the organization. Comrade Ramappa, State secretary of the party and D. Chowdappa, state Vice-President of AIALA played a major role in relief activities.
In Gangavati taluk of Koppal district, relay protest demonstrations, led by Comrade J. Bharadwaj, state president of AIALA, were organized everyday since 20 October 2009 involving hundreds of people. The state and district administration were criticized for their ineffective role in providing relief to the people in the wake of the disaster. The visiting BJP MLA was gheroed by the people led by AIALA in the immediate aftermath of flood in Gangavati.
AISA Convention at Davanagere
AISA organized a convention at Davanagere on 24 September 2009 against the anti-student policies of the central and state governments. AISA General Secretary Ravi Rai came down heavily on the Congress-led central government for the proposed educational reforms that is heavily biased in favour of the corporate houses and multinational companies. He said that the proposed privatization of universities is an attempt to hand over the entire education sector to the corporate houses and a euphemism for shirking off the responsibility of the government. AISA’s incharge for Southern States, Rajan Pandey criticized the government for commercialization of higher education and for creating knowledge slaves to serve the rich and powerful in the society. He also criticized the educational reforms as New Macaulayan reforms catering to the interests of the corporate houses. CPI(ML) state secretary E.Ramappa, while inaugurating the convention, criticized the BJP-led state government for communalizing education and poisoning young minds. He called upon students to create waves of radical student struggles and to build a revolutionary student movement in Karnataka that will provide a fitting rebuff to the communal ABVP and anti-student NSUI. Comrade E. Rati Rao, all-India Vice President of AIPWA and a retired scientist called upon students to fight for value based and burden-less education system that can inculcate critical thinking and all-round development of knowledge among students.
The convention was presided by Kotresh, Dist. President and law student and was conducted by Hanumanthappa, State Convenor of AISA. The Convention was also addressed by DM Prasad, Dist. Sec, Parameshwarappa and Kumar, Dist. Jt. Secretaries and Chandrappa among others.
AISA’s Hunger Strike against Fee Hikes in DU
Protesting against the fee hikes imposed on students of Delhi University resulting in a 100% or more increase in examination fees, electricity fees in hostels, revaluation and improvement fees and Buss Pass fees, All India Students’ Association (AISA) organized a rally in Delhi University mobilizing students from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Ramjas College, Lady Shri Ram College, Hindu College, Arts Faculty, Law Faculty and several other colleges within the university.
The rally proceeded from the Swamy Vivekananda Statue in Arts Faculty and went through several colleges before submitting a signed memorandum appealing for a roll-back of the fee hike at the Vice Chancellors office. The VC was not available and the students have started a 48-hour long mass relay hunger strike outside the Arts Faculty which will end on 29th October. The students expect the Vice Chancellor to take a decision regarding roll-back of the fee hike within these 48 hours.
AISA has appealed to students, teachers and all progressive members of the university to join the struggle for a democratic campus and genuine right to education.
Protesting against the increase in student bus pass fees from Rs12.50 a month to Rs100 per month, an effigy of the Delhi government was burnt during the course of the rally.
Pricol Update
National President of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) Com. S. Kumarasami was given anticipatory bail in the Pricol incident where he was falsely accused for the tragic death of Pricol’s HR VP. Fifty workers were arrested and put in jail out of which 26 have been given bail and barring one the Pricol management has taken back all 25 for work. Earlier the management never took-back the workers when there was court case involved after industrial dispute. This is the first time the workers released from jail have been allowed to resume their job. The remaining 24 workers who did not get bail have been charged with Sec. 302 of the IPC. The AICCTU is making all efforts for their bail as soon as possible.
At the heart of the incident in Pricol, Graziano and recently Gurgaon is the managements’ continuous denial to the workers to form and recognize their union and total absence of industrial democracy. The AICCTU and CPI(ML) have declared that the nation-wide struggle for workers’ right to form their union, trade union recognition and industrial democracy will be intensified and carried on until the working class win their basic rights.
Updates from Land Struggles in Jharkhand
Entire Lohardaga Dist. in Jharkhand is a formally notified region in Govt. records for Tribal people. The Govt. also considers this region which is rich in Bauxite ores as Naxal affected. Kisko is a block of this Dist. whose adivasi section has bore the brunt of Birla’s jagirdari. Even the khatiyani land has been suspended by the Administration here under the excuse that peasants’ records have been suspended as the land belonged originally to the Forest Dept. The peasants, however, have the official receipt of their land. There is no mention of the Land as belonging to the Forest Dept. in Khatiyan records. Due to suspension of Khatiyan in several villages of Kisko block, the peasants are now facing problems in making their residential, income or caste certificates. The Govt. has chosen to ignore this assault being mounted on the people of these villages. Erstwhile central minister Rameshwar Oraon hailing from Congress did not entertain their appeal and local MLA again from Congress is not all bothered about this. As a result of disaffection from ruling class parties there has been massive participation of people in agitation and movement being conducted by CPI(ML). The Administrative officials follow a tactic of dilly-dallying whenever these issues are being taken to them. Against this backdrop the Party has begun a relay and continuous campaign cum agitation in Kisko block. This continued from 7-13 October. The villagers came in hordes of hundreds from different villages each day and stayed for full 24 hours. There was not a day when less than 500 people were not present in the ghera-dalo dera-dalo (encircle the block office and stay put) agitation. On 9th October the strength was two thousand. The official work at the block and regional offices was paralysed for a week. The CO and BDO tried to force their entry into the offices, but the people denied them entry. Only after the Administrative officials came on 13th October and gave an assurance for time-bound action on all the demands of the people, the gherao was lifted. Alongside there were also agitations for other crucial issues and dealers-contractors who benefit from corrupt practices have started to spread rumours against our Party.
AIPWA’s Protest March in Patna
Recently, when the women activists of All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) held a dharna at the Bhore block office in Gopalganj dist demanding work for women under NREGA, equal wages for women, prohibition on liquor and prevention of atrocities against women, the officials refused to acknowledge the grievances and did not bother to come to the dharna place. When the AIPWA leaders and some women went to meet the BDO in his office he could not tolerate an old woman asking questions and threw his baton at her. When the AIPWA leaders present there angered by such sick behaviour protested this all of them including AIPWA’s State Vice President Sohila Gupta, Ramawati Devi of Gopalganj, Reena Sharma and others were beaten up inside the chamber by the BDO and police. Later when protest intensified, the SDO came and gave assurances to act against the BDO. However, the AIPWA members were in for a shock when they learnt that instead of any action against the involved BDO and policemen , the AIPWA leaders themselves have been implicated under false charges.
AIPWA is conducting programmes all over Bihar against this assault that reeks of extreme feudal attitude of the officials of Nitish Govt. AIPWA has demanded immediate suspension and arrest of the BDO and withdrawal of all cases against the AIPWA activists. On 19 October a march was held at Siwan and on 20 October protest marches were held at Gaya and Patna.
Dharna in Delhi to Protest National Vendor Policy
The National Policy for Urban Street Vendors, introduced by the Government in 2004, and revised afterwards, first in 2006 and then in 2009, claims to give legitimacy to the vast population of crores of street vendors (rehdi-khokha-patri-pheri walas) who have hitherto been considered illegal encroachers by the law and forced to live at the mercy of corrupt municipal officials and police who would extort ‘hafta’ from them. However, if we read between the lines of the policy, putting it in context of the neoliberal policy framework of the current regime, we find that instead of protecting their livelihood, it is far more likely to spell eviction for millions of vendors all over the country.
CPI(ML) and Delhi Street-Vendors’ Federation held a dharna at MCD Headquarters in Delhi and condemned the attempts to displace and evict hundreds of thousands of vendors and render them jobless in the process of implementing National Vendor Policy (NVP). Through the dharna the Party sent a memorandum to the MCD demanding that each person earning livelihood from street-vending in the Capital be given license and that MCD and Delhi Administration take upon the responsibility to do it. No street-vendor be evicted in the name of implementing NVP. The dharna was led by CPI(ML) State Committee member Com. VKS Gautam, Delhi Vendors’ Federation Convenor Com. Shyam Kishore Yadav, AISA GS Ravi Rai, AICCTU State GS Santosh Rai among others. The leaders addressing the dharna said that this is a ploy to handover the multi-billion rupee retail economy to the big corporate houses and the approach of Delhi’s Congress Govt. and Municipal Council of Delhi (MCD) in this regard has been anti-vendor. More than 200 street-vendors attended the dharna.
The process has been ongoing in Delhi to implement the NVP. As part of this the last date for submission of application forms for obtaining licences was 15-10-2007. However, as the information for the same had not been disseminated properly, a lot of street-vendors were just not aware about this. Since they have not submitted the application, they will be evicted from vending leading to massive job-losses and ruin of their families. There is a sizeable chunk of street-vendors who are unaware about NVP. The ward vending committees too have been unsuccessful in making them aware about this. In order to save the employments of this large number of street-vendors various demands have been put forth as concrete steps to be taken urgently: (1) all interested street-vendors who have not been able to file application be registered and as most of them come from deprived sections of society with no or very little technical knowledge, the Administration should use suitable techniques for registering and those that get left out should not be held responsible for unregistered status, (2) as there are about 6 lakhs street-vendors in Delhi, the NVP should not be implemented until the licenses have been made for all of them and no forceful eviction should take place. If a vendor is found without license he/she should be aided in obtaining one and this should not be an excuse for evicting him/her from the occupation.
The leaders also said that the effort should be to appreciate the positive and crucial role these vendors play in bettering the daily lives of the citizens of Delhi and NCR and all efforts at denying them their rightful place and a right to earn their livelihood should be thwarted.
Mayawati Govt. Imposes Gangster Act on Villagers for demanding Basic Rights
When the villagers who gave away their land for a cement factory in CHunar demanded their rightful share, the Mayawati Govt. charged them under the dreaded Gangster Act. 23 villagers are behind bars now under this Act in Mirzapur jail. Among them is also a 16 year old Kamla Prasad. Terming the incident as yet another evidence of anti-poor anti-people and repressive Mayawati Govt. the CPI(ML) held a protest demonstration at the Chunar tehsil headquarters on 21st October.
Prior to this when the peasants were marching to the tehsil HQ on 6 October with same issues, the police encircled them and rained blows and lathis on them. The peasants - when they gave their land for the UP Cement Corporation, were promised by the State Govt. that they will be given job in the cement plant as compensation – are feeling clearly betrayed. In 2006, the then Mulayam Govt. handed over the Chunar Cement concern to private players (JP group). In the (dirty)deal with JP group the State Govt. totally ignored the situation of those peasants who had already given away their land. The JP group did not employ those that had given their land when they restarted the cement factory.
Party has also written to the Governor and demanded immediate justice to the thousands of affected villagers.